Over P133-M worth of 'fake products' bearing Lacoste, Huawei, Gentle Monster brands seized by NBI
More than P133 million worth of alleged fake products with known brands Lacoste, Huawei, and Gentle Monster have been seized during operations conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Metro Manila and Rizal.
In a statement, the NBI said its operatives served search warrants issued by Regional Trial Courts (RTC) in establishments in Manila, Paranaque City, and Cainta town in Rizal for violations of Republic Act (RA) 8293, the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
In one of the operations, the NBI said it acted on the complaint by the law firm Rara Reyes and Associates (MARKSPRO) which represented the brand Lacoste, and served search warrants in several establishments in Valenzuela City and Cainta.
It said the operation led to “the seizure of a significant quantity of counterfeit Lacoste products, including undergarments, with an estimated value of P73,986,000..”
On the complaint of Lee Bumgarner, Inc. (LBI) on behalf of its client Huawei, the NBI served search warrants in Manila and Paranaque City.
The operation resulted in "the seizure of a substantial quantity of counterfeit products such as adapters, cables, earphone/headsets, wireless mouse and screen protectors bearing the trademark of Huawei with an estimated value of P54 Million.”
The NBI Rizal District Office (NBI-RIZDO) also served search warrants to different commercial stores in Binondo, Manila which resulted in “the seizure of counterfeit Gentle Monster products with an estimated value of P5,500,000.”
It sad "the office of NBI-RIZDO received a letter-complaint regarding certain individuals and/or establishments in the City of Manila who are engaged in the marketing, distribution and/or sale of counterfeit Gentle Monster products.”
NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago advised the public “not to buy fake products and encouraged everyone to report any suspected counterfeit products to the NBI.”